Engine



H. H. TIMIAN Jhnliy 9, 1935.

ENGINE Filed June 22, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

tfizrdd z jmz'an ATTORNEY.

.of my inventionand in which:

Patented July 9, 1935 STATE aotmzz I ENGINE Harold H; Timian, Detroit, Mich, assignor to Continental Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich,

acorporation of Virginia Application June 22, 1931, Serial No. 545,874

' y 15 Claims. (01. 123-52) My invention relates to internal combustion engines and more particularly to an intake manifold structure adapted for use therewith fordistributing the fuelmixture to the enginecylinders. Inmanyinstances it is found desirable to employdown-"draft fuel mixture forming devices or carburetors which will produce improved operating results with respect to fuel distribution. A down-draft carburetor has many other apparent advantagesover the up-draft carburetor but heretoforedifliculty has been experienced in properly distributing the wet fuel accumulations tending to collect within the manifold'structure. I

An object of my present invention is to construct an internalcombustion engine employing a carburetor or fuel mixture forming device of the down-draft type and having generally improved operating characteristics,

"Another object of my invention is to construct a' manifold structure adapted for cooperative as-' semblywith adowndraft carburetor andin which rneansare' provided for accurately and uniformly distributing the fuel mixture as desired forproviding an engine of improved'operating characteristics. I g A .further'object of my invention is toprovide means for distributing the fuel mixture to the engine cylinders employing a carburetor of the down-draft type by providing a manifoldstructure adapted for cooperative assembly with a carburetor of the down-draft type and in which means are provided for. inducing a stratified fuel mixture flow; through the manifold branches for conducting afuel mixture through the engine in such a way asto uniformly distribute the fuel mixture to the engine cylinders.

.A more det iledunderstanding of my invention may be had by referring to the accompanying drawings illustrating preferred embodiments Fig. .1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an; internal combustion engine illustrating a manifold structure assembled therewithand constructedin accordance with myinvention, 3 Fig. 2 is a verticalsectional view of my improved intake manifold structure and taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 4,

Fig. 3 is: ahorizontal section taken substantially on the line-3--3 of Fig. 4, Y r

1 Fig. Lisa transverse vertical sectional view of my improvedstructure taken substantially on the line4-'4 of Fig. 2, v b

{Fig; 5 is a transverse sectional view through one of the-manifold branches diagrammatically illustrating how the fuel mixture is stratified in operation, a

Fig. 6 is a'plan View of the construction illustrated in Fig. 1,

Fig. -'7 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating a modified construction in which the manifold branch is provided with a partition extending longitudinally thereof for dividing the fuel mixture flow, I

Fig. 8 is a detail sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. '7,

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view illustrating a further modified construction in which the groovein said manifold structure is extended for a greater distance than illustrated in Figures 2 and 3,

Fig. 10 is a horizontal sectional view of a ther modified construction of a manifold employinga kick-back in the port runner and Fig. 11 is a horizontal sectional view of a further modified construction illustrating a divided manifold branch. Q

The intake manifold structure A illustrated in Figures 1 to 6 inclusive is adapted to be assembled with an internal combustion engine which in general consists of an engine cylinder block it having an intake passage i I communicating with engine intake ports (not shown). This manifold structure A is preferably arra'nged'for association with a conventional engine of the multiple cylinder'typeand consists of a primary fuel mixture conducting portion 12 communicating with a fuel mixture formingdevice or carburetor [3. The manifold structure also includes a fuel mixture distributing chamber .14 and the fuel mixture conducting portion i2 extends down- Wardly in communication with said distributing chamber 14-. Manifoldbranches i5 are connected in open communication with the distributing chamber and extend laterally and upwardly from said chamber as at It. Preferably these branches or runners are sloped upwardly for only a por-- tion of their length as illustrated in Fig. 2.

The manifold structure is constructed in such a way as to provide what I term a settling basin H which is positioned in the floor of the distributing chamber l4 opposite to the outlet of i said fuel mixture conducting portion l2. The sloping portion of said manifold branches or runners are each provided with a groove It in the floor there; of these grooves opening into the settling basin H and terminating slightly beyond the termi-= nation of said sloping portion of the manifold branches. Preferably these grooves l8 are located substantially in the center of the branches as 11-- lustrated in Fig. 3 and are relatively shallow in order to facilitate movement of the wet fuel by action of the fuel mixture movement.

The purpose for which these grooves were provided is to induce a stratified fuel flow in the manifold branches I5. In a down-draft fuel conducting manifold structure as illustrated in the accompanying drawings there is a tendency of the wet fuel to accumulate along the fioor of the manifold structure and in the construction shown in the illustrated embodiment of my invention wet fuel tends to accumulate in the settling basin H. In the operation of the engine the fuel mixture is drawn by suction through the manifold branches and the wet fuel is caused to flow through said upwardly inclined branch portions in response to the pull or forces exerted by the moving fuel mixture and the groove located in the.

floor thereof receives the wet fuel precipitates and confines this fuel flow in a prescribed path toward the engine cylinders. Thus the wet fuel is caused to flow in a desired strata substantially along the center line of the manifold branch. On increasing the speed of the engine any wet fuel flowing along the groove 3 is whipped off adjacent the end of the groove remote from the distributing chamber into the zone lying in the vicinity of the axis of said manifold branch, and thus the groove induces the stratified fuel mixture flow in the manifold branch at relatively high engine speeds as well as at relatively low engine speeds. Fig. 5 diagrammatically illustrates the stratification within the manifold branch produced by the construction herein illustrated. It will be noted that the fuel mixture between the planes indicated by the dotted lines I9 is relatively more dense than the fuel mixture to the other side of these planes. It will be noted that the outer limits of the dense strata of fuel mixture very closely approximates a plane extending longitudinally of the manifold branch and containing the side walls of the groove 88.

As shown in Figures 2 to 4 inclusive the exhaust gases are conducted in proximity with the 4 fuel distributing chamber l4 and the floor of the' settling basin H. The structure herein illustrated provides a heating jacket 20 surrounding the fuel mixture distributing chamber l4 and a portion of the exhaust gases is permitted to flow through the jacket 20 since this jacket is communicated as at 2| with the exhaust gas conducting passage 22. A port 23 provides an outlet for the jacket 20 and the relative sizes of these ports 2| and 23 regulate the amount of exhaust gases permitted to flow through the heating jacket 20.

Fig. 7 illustrates a modified construction in which the manifold branches 25 are provided with a partition wall 26 extending substantially the entire length of the manifold branch Preferably this partition wall terminates at a point adjacent the end of the shallow groove I 8 remote from the fuel mixture distributing chamber l4 and is constructed to abut the partition wall 21 dividing the cylinder intake passage into separate intake chambers 28 each intake chamber adapted for association with a single cylinder intake port.

Fig. 9 illustrates another modified construction in which the relatively shallow Wet fuel conducting groove I8 is extended to a point adjacent the outlet of the manifold branch I5. In this construction the manifold branch may be arranged to thus deliver the fuel mixture to a cylinder intake chamber cooperatively associated with Siamese ports or said intake chamber may be constructed similar to the construction illustrated in Fig. 7

in which the intake chamber or passage is divided by a partition wall 21 illustrated by the dotted lines. Fig. 10 illustrates a modified construction having a fuel mixture distributing chamber grooves and other manifold portions constructed substantially similar to that shown in Figures 2 and 3. However, in this construction the port runner portion 40 of the manifold structures is not positioned substantially at right angles to the lateral runner 4| as in the case of the previously described constructions but is inclined therewith at an angle of more than and is provided with a kick-back portion 42 which acts upon said stratified fuel flow to discharge the same through the outlet 43 in such a way as to uniformly distribute the fuel mixture to the respective engine cylinders.

In Fig. 11 I haveprovided a manifold structure consisting of a lateral runner 45 communicating with the fuel distributing chamber I4, said lateral runner communicating with a plurality of port runners 46. The construction herein illustrated provides a manifold portion 41 which acts to divide the fuel mixture flow and dis? tribute the same into said port runner portions. Preferably the relatively shallow wet fuel conducting groove I8 is extended to a point adjacent to said fuel mixture dividing means or split 41.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which my invention pertains that various modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim as my invention is: 1

1. In an engine havinga fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the ,fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and manifold runner portions extending laterally and upwardly from said chamber and constructed to induce a stratified fuel flow therein along the bottom wall thereof at relatively low engine speeds and adjacent the central longitudinal axial plane" through said runner portion at relatively high engine speeds.

2. In an engine having'a fuel mixture forming deviceyan' intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion'communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and manifold branches consisting of lateral and port runner portions and communicating with said fuel mixture distributing chamber, said lateraland port runner portions positioned at an angle to each other and connected by a bend; said lateral runner portion provided with a wet fuel conducting groove in the floor thereof extendingfrom the distributing chamber to a point beyond the bend for inducing a stratified directional fuel flow in saidrunner portions.

3. In an engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber provided. with a substantially fiat bottom portion, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber whereby the fuel mixture carried thereby is impinged on said flat bottom portion, and manifold runner portions said fuel mixture distrlbut-- laterally extending communicating with 'ing ich'amberx-and provided with 2 wet fuel. con- .ductingrelative'ly shallowxgrooves communicate ingwith lthe bottom portion of "said distributing chamber for inducing astratified fuel flow therein during engine operation; i

4. In an: engine having .a fuel mixture forming device, ,an,,intake ,manifold, structure having a ,fuel'mixture distributing chamber providedwith asubstantialIy flat bottom portion a, primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber whereby the fuel mixture carried thereby is impinged on said flatbottompo-rtion; and manifold runner portions extending laterally and up wariily from said chamber and providedwith wet fuel conducting relatively shallow grooves in the floor 'cf said portions communicating with the bottom portion of said distributing chamber and extended laterally and upwardly toinduce a stratified fuel flow therein; 3 l

5. A manifold structure including a distributing ,chamberand1'iaiplurality. of fuel conducting portions communicating with the cylinders of a multi-cylinder internal combustion engine and with said distributing chamber, and a primary fuel conducting portion extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, means within said conducting portions for dividing said fuel flow at a point spaced from said distributing chamber an amount sufficient to .permit the fluid to attain equilibrium prior to being acted upon by said dividing means,'and a groove intermediate said distributing chamber and said fuel flow dividing means for inducing a stratified wet fuel flow, said groove terminating ahead of the said fu'el'flow dividing means. i 6. {In a multi-cylinder engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and laterally extending manifold runner portions communicating with said fuel mixture distributing chamber, said lateral runner portions provided with means acting on the Wet fuel flowing along a wallof the manifold structure and inducing a stratified directional fuel flow toward the engine cylinders, whereby ,to facilitate distribution of the fuel to the engine cylinders during engine operation.

7. In a multi-cylinder engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and manifold runner portions extending laterally and upwardly from said chamber and i provided with means inducing a stratified direcfuel flowing along a-wall thereofifor1inducing a stratified directional "fuel flow therein toward the'engine cylinders throughout arange of engine speeds whereby to facilitate distribution, of the fuel and fuelmixture to the engine cylinders h .d'uring engine operation.

9. In a multi-cylinder engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold struc-- ;ture havinga fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion com municating with the fuel mixture forming- "device and extendingdownwardly to said distributing chamber, and laterally extending manifoldrun"- ner portions for distributing fuel mixture torthe engine cylindersand chambers, said runner por-.-

tions" provided with fuel conducting. grooves of relatively shallow depth in the floor of the runner portions to induce a stratified directional fuel flow therein toward the engine cylinders wherebys'to facilitate distribution of said fuel to the engine cylinders. m I 10; In an engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold 'structurefhavi'n'gl .a

fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and manifold branches consisting of lateral and port runner portions and communicating with said fuel mixture distributing chamber, said lateral runner portion provided with a wet fuel conducting groove of relatively shallow depth in the floor thereof to induce a stratified directional fuel flow therein toward the engine cylinders whereby to facilitate distribution of said fuel to the engine cylinders.

11. In an engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, and manifold branches consisting of lateral and port runner portions and communicating with said fuel ,mixture distributing chamber, said lateral and port runner portions provided with a continuous relatively shallow wet fuel conducting groove in the floor thereof whereby to induce a stratified fuel flow therein and to impart directional flow thereto toward the engine cylinders.

12. In an engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, manifold branches consisting of lateral and port runner portions and communicating with said fuel mixture distributing chamber, and'fuel distributing means within said runner portions extending longitudinally thereof from said distributing chamber towards the engine cylinders, said means acting on the wet fuel flowing along the walls of said manifold structure for inducing a stratified directional fuel flow in said runner portions towards the engine cylinders during engine operation, whereby to facilitate distribution of said fuel to the engine cylinders.

I 13. In a multi-cylinder engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, manifold branches consisting of lateral and port runner portions and communicating with said fuel mixture distributin: chamber, said manifold structure having an outlet positioned at a higher level than said distributing chamber, and wet fuel conducting means extending longitudinally within said lateral runner portion for inducing a stratified directional fuel flow therein towards the engine cylinders, whereby to facilitate the distribution of the fuel to the engine cylinders during engine operation.

14. In a multi-cylinder engine having a fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture formingydevice and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, said manifold structure having an outlet positioned at a higher level than said distributing chamber, and manifold runner portions extending laterally and upwardly. from said chamber and provided with means withinsaid runner portions for inducing a stratifled directional fuel flow therein towardsthe engine cylinders over a' range of engine speeds, whereby to facilitate. the uniform distribution of the fuel to the engine cylinders during engine operation at varying engine loadings.

15. In an engine having a-fuel mixture forming device, an intake manifold structure having a fuel mixture distributing chamber, a primary fuel mixture conducting portion communicating with the fuel mixture forming device and extending downwardly to said distributing chamber, said manifold structure having an outlet positioned at a higher level than said distributing chamber, and manifold branches including a lateral runner portion having a portion adjacent to and communicating with the fuel mixture distributing chamber inclined upwardly and provided with a wet fuel conducting groove whereby to induce a stratified directional fuel flow in said runner portion towards the engine cylinders during engine operation.

HAROLD H. TIMIAN. 

